Saving Angel
by snarryvader81
Summary: One night in November 1981, Angel, a vampire with a soul, stumbles upon a baby with a lightning bolt scar abandoned in an alley. How will Harry Potter's life change having been raised by a vampire? Harry Potter crossover with Angel.
1. One Dark Night In An Alley

Angel's life had been a constant hell for almost a hundred years. Once a powerful, very evil vampire, Angel was just a shadow of who he once was. You see, when Angel was a young man of about 26, he'd done something very stupid. He'd followed a beautiful woman into an alley. She'd promised to show him the world, get him out of Ireland. And she did, but the price was very, very high.

This woman's name was Darla, and, as it turned out, she wasn't human at all. She was a vampire. And she'd made Angel a vampire, too.

Angel was great as a vampire - a natural. He killed, he maimed, he tortured, and he tormented, and he was very proud of it. His life wasn't a hell back then, oh no. It was bliss.

The reason for this bliss? Angel didn't have a soul. Therefore, he could not feel regret nor remorse for his actions. Other people's suffering meant nothing to him. In fact, he was so evil that he'd be forever remembered as the most vicious vampire ever to exist.

But one dark Romanian night, Angel's life (or non-life) came to a screeching halt. Several days previous, Angel had killed a girl. Nothing odd about that, though, right? Wrong.

This girl belonged to a clan of Gypsies, and when word got back to them that Angel had killed her, they were furious. They wanted vengeance more than anything, but a stake through the heart was too easy for him, they thought. So they came up with something worse. Something agonizing. And the irony of it all was that Angel's past actions would be what would torment him.

What did they do, you might ask? They cursed him with a soul.

Where before Angel felt nothing for his victims, now all of the guilt and disgust came rushing back to him.

Darla wanted nothing more to do with him. She had made that very clear when she chased him out of the house with a stake.

After that, Angel had just wandered aimlessly, living off of the blood of small animals. He'd eventually immigrated to America in the 1900s, where he remained until 1981, when he'd felt compelled to return to England. Why he didn't know, he just felt as if he needed to go.

So England is where he currently was. Surrey, to be exact. It had to have been almost one o'clock in the morning, and Angel, still at a loss for why he'd felt that he needed to come back to Britain, was strolling down an alley, surveying the area suspiciously, when he suddenly thought he'd heard the sound of a baby whimpering.

Angel stopped walking and, using his enhanced hearing, listened for another sound.

There it was again, clearer this time. It sounded exactly like a baby.

Angel slowly, cautiously, tiptoed further down the alley, coming to a stop in front of a broken wooden crate. The sound was much clearer now.

Still wary, Angel took a few steps forward and looked down.

There, wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of the crate, was a small, raven haired baby.

Angel's brown eyes widened and he glanced around the alley again, almost as if someone would pop out of the shadows to claim the child before him. But no one did.

Reluctantly, Angel reached down and picked up the baby, lifting the whimpering child to hold against his chest. Something fell from the folds of the blanket, catching Angel's attention.

Shifting the baby around to hold with one arm, he reached down and grasped the object, lifting it up to his line of sight.

It appeared to be a letter, written on some odd kind of paper. It was addressed to "The Dursleys".

Angel looked back to the baby, noticing for the first time an odd cut on his forehead. Resembling the shape of a lightning bolt, the cut was still fresh and healing, and would probably end up as a scar.

The baby raised it's head slightly to look up at him. Angel's brown eyes met the child's emerald green ones.

"I can't keep you," Angel muttered. "I'm a vampire. I have a blood lust. I can't take care of a baby."

The baby just made a mewling noise. Angel grimaced. "I just can't keep you." He paused and looked around. "But I can't leave you abandoned in an alley, can I?"

The baby just blinked its big eyes at him.

"Damn you. Fine, I'll take you back to my hotel while I decide what to do with you. But just until I can find an orphanage or something. I cannot keep you."

Determined, Angel grasped the baby tighter, turned on his heels and strode out of the alley, bound for his hotel.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I've never really written a crossover before, but I thought that an Angel crossover with Harry Potter story was plausible, and this idea had been in the back of my mind for a while.

Hope you like it!


	2. An Unusual Wizard

The baby seemed content to be sleeping on the hotel room bed, surrounded by blankets. It was only November, so thankfully it hadn't been extremely cold outside. Angel had taken the baby out of his dirty blankets and cleaned him up the best he could with a warm rag. He didn't have any way to feed him, so he just rocked him back and forth until he drifted off to sleep.

Angel took the opportunity to read the letter that had came with the child. He sat down at the small desk in the room, unfolded it, and began to read.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,_

_I am sorry to inform you of this, but Lily and her husband, James Potter, were murdered on Halloween night by Lord Voldemort. _

_Voldemort, as you may already know, is a very dark and evil wizard who has been terrorizing the Wizarding World for years. He managed to track Lily and James down and kill them. The curse he used, the Avada Kedavra (otherwise known as the 'Killing Curse'), ended their lives instantly._

_But something unexplainable happened that night. Voldemort turned his wand on baby Harry and cast the curse, but it didn't work. It hit Harry, but instead of killing him, it backfired onto Voldemort, leaving Harry with only a cut on his forehead._

_It is unknown what happened to Voldemort, but the Order of the Phoenix fears that he may still be alive somewhere. _

_Harry is now an orphan, and since you are his last remaining family members, must stay with you. Harry is very famous in our world now, having survived the Avada Kedavra. It was thought to be impossible, but Harry, being only fifteen months old, managed to live._

_Harry needs protection from the remaining Death Eaters (followers of Lord Voldemort) who would like nothing more to kill him. _

_Lily gave her life to protect Harry, therefore invoking something known as blood protection. That may have been what saved him from the killing curse._

_To have him still be under that protection, Harry must live with a relative of his mother's. _

_As I have stated before, Voldemort is probably not dead. He had a reason for hunting the Potters down, and it involved a prophecy that predicted that a child who was born as the 'seventh month died' (Harry was born on July 31, 1980) to parents who had defied Voldemort three times, would one day rise up and kill Voldemort. Harry is believed to be this child._

_Harry will, once he reaches the age of eleven, attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do not keep him in the dark about the Wizarding World or his parents._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Angel sat in shocked silence for a long time. A wizard. He'd just found a wizard in an alley. An not just any wizard, by the sound of it, but a bloody powerful and unusual one.

The vampire glanced back over at the baby, who had by now woken up at was staring at him silently.

He bit his lip. He couldn't send the kid off to an orphanage now.

Pulling himself up, Angel walked over to the bed and scooped the baby into his hands. "Well, Harry, I guess we better go get some baby supplies before the sun comes up."

Harry 'cooed' in response.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Only 2 days of school left, then I'm offically out of middle school!!! Can't wait. Have a severe case of writers block, but I think the next chapter will be up pretty soon.

Thanks for reviewing.


	3. A Life So Changed

_**Seven Years Later . . .**_

By the time 1988 rolled around, Angel had raised Harry Potter for seven years. It was no easy task, considering that the vampire had no experience with children whatsoever. Well - not counting the experience he had with eating them.

After that night in England, Angel had decided to come back to America. He settled in New Orleans for the time being.

Harry was a quiet child who rarely cried or made any kind of fuss, but he was constantly curious about _everything_. Angel wasn't the best teacher, but Harry picked up reading fairly quickly.

Angel had told him all he knew about the Wizarding World (which wasn't very much, as he was a Muggle Vampire, not a Magical one) and he even managed to get him some books on Wizarding Culture.

Harry read all of them quickly and soon moved on to books on demons and Wiccan Spells, though he only understood the basics: some demons were bad, some good. Some magic was bad, other types good. And, most importantly, Wicca was not the same type of magic that Wizards and Witches of the magical world practiced, just an offshoot of it.

Practitioners of Wicca (muggles) could tap into the raw magic that was naturally present in the world and channel it to use in spells. The magic that Wizards and Witches of the magical world used was a birth right - it came from within.

However, since Harry had inborn magic, it made it extremely easy for him to practice Wicca. Angel taught him the occasional spell, but he couldn't help but wonder what actual wizards did.

Harry might have enjoyed learning, but he hated school. It wasn't that he was bullied or struggled to make good grades, he just saw it as a waste of time. It wasn't as if they taught anything that really _mattered _in the real world.

Who cared who built the first pyramid? He certainly didn't.

In 1986, Angel and Harry moved to New York City. Harry liked New Orleans much better, but he soon adjusted to living there.

That was, of course, until a demon called the Whistler showed up one night.

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I edited. I kept most of what I liked about this chapter, but I changed the completely stupid stuff. It's still too short, but I think its better. :)

Anna


	4. Welcome to the Hellmouth Part 1

Harry hated Sunnydale, California. _Hated it_. He hadn't been there very long, but the dark energy that engulfed the place already made him sick.

And all because Angel suddenly took a fancy to the new vampire slayer.

When the Whistler came, Harry hadn't even known what a Slayer was. Angel had to explain it to him on the way to Los Angeles.

Now, a few months later, he was officially relocated to a town sitting on top of a Hellmouth and enrolled in Sunnydale Elementary.

_Nothing_ good could come of this. Harry was positive of it.

And if he wanted to be truthful, he was a little afraid. He'd never actually met a demon (well - there was the Whistler, but he wasn't exactly evil, per se) or a vampire other then Angel, and he had no idea how to fight them.

It really wasn't even safe to leave the house at night.

And that made him wonder what possessed him to sneak out of the apartment to come to a club called the Bronze. There wasn't anyone his age there, anyway, and just looking into the crowd on the dance floor, he knew that there had to be some vampires there. He was praying he could get back to the apartment without ending up monster food.

Harry sighed and turned around in his seat at the bar.

"Er - can I have a water - or a sprite - or something that I won't get arrested for drinking?"

The bartender nodded at him.

"You're kinda young to be in here," a redhead in the seat next to him said timidly.

"There was nothing saying I couldn't."

"Oh, I - I'm not complaining. I think that it's cool for younger kids to be here - I mean--"

Harry extended his hand. "Harry Potter, nice to meet you."

"Oh - the same. Wait - no, my name isn't Harry Potter, it's Willow - Willow Rosenberg. But it is nice to meet you."

Harry nodded mutely, raising an amused eyebrow at her.

"So - I haven't seen you here before."

"No, no. I just moved here. Unfortunately."

"It is boring, isn't it? Where did you use to live?"

"NYC."

"New York. Well - it's definitely boring compared to New York City."

"I noticed."

"So - so why did you move here?"

"My - my legal guardian had to come here for - for some reason or another. Not really sure."

"How old are you?"

Harry sighed. "Eight," he muttered.

"Eight. I'm fifteen."

Harry flushed in embarrassment. He _really_ shouldn't have come to the Bronze.

"Who's your legal guardian?"

"His name's Angel."

"Angel Potter?"

"No."

"Er - where is he? Isn't he like, um, concerned that you're here?"

"Chances are he doesn't know. I think he's out stalking some girl."

"Stalking? Who?"

"Hey!!"

Harry glanced up and had to resist the urge to groan. There she was - the very reason he was sitting in the middle of a vampire infested club: Buffy Anne Summers, the newest Vampire Slayer.

"Oh, hi!!" Willow spun around to face the blonde girl. "Hi!"

"Oh, you're here with someone?"

"No, I'm just here. I thought Xander was gonna show up. I've been talking with Harry, though."

Buffy looked past Willow. "Hello. I'm Buffy."

"Harry."

"Aren't you a little--"

"Yes," Harry interrupted. "And no, I do not make a habit of sneaking out to go to bars. This is actually the first time I have ever been in a club. Don't ask why I suddenly had the urge to do this."

Buffy nodded slowly and looked back at Willow. "Are you guys going out?"

"What? No. I just met him. And he's _eight._"

Harry blushed again.

"Not him. Xander."

"Oh, no, we're just friends. We used to go out, but we broke up."

"How come?"

"He stole my Barbie."

Harry raised an eyebrow but opted to just sip his water and not comment.

"Oh, we were five."

"Oh."

"I - I - I Don't actually date a whole lot . . . lately."

"Why not?"

"Well, when I'm with a boy I like, it's hard for me to say anything cool, or - or witty, or at all. I - I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away."

Harry was suddenly very reminded of a girl in second grade named Miranda who had had a crush on him and had the same problem with talking to him. He pitied anyone Willow liked.

"It's not _that_ bad!"

"No, it is. I think boys are more interested in a girl who can talk."

"You really _haven't_ been dating lately."

"It's probably easy for you."

"Yeah, real easy," Buffy huffed.

"I - I mean, you don't seem too shy."

"Well, my philosophy - Do you wanna hear my philosophy?"

"Yeah, I do!"

"Life - is short."

"Life is short," Willow repeated.

_Life won't be very short for me_, Harry thought, sipping at his drink. _Of course, it might be, considering how often the Wizarding World goes to war._

"Not original, I'll grant you, but it's true. You know? Why waste time being all shy and worrying about some guy if he's gonna laugh at you. Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead!"

"Oh, that's nice!"

"Certainly puts a new twist on carpe diem," Harry muttered.

Buffy glanced up at the upper level. "Um, I'll be back in a minute."

She jumped up from her seat.

"Oh tha - that's okay. You don't have to come back."

Buffy smiled at her. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Seize the moment," Willow murmured.

Harry turned around in his seat again and followed Buffy with his eyes. She walked up beside an older man standing on the upper level and started to talk with him.

Harry wondered who he was. Buffy Summers didn't seem to be the type to just have a chat with some stuffy-looking middle-aged guy. Maybe he was that 'Watcher' person Angel had mentioned.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Harry looked back over at Willow. But, much to his dismay, she wasn't there.

He started to scan the crowd with his eyes, but there was no sign of her. Something akin to foreboding started to come over him. There was absolutely no reason that he should be concerned (And even if she was in danger, it wasn't his problem, was it?) but he couldn't shake an uneasy feeling.

Renewing his efforts, he finally spotted her.

What he saw made all his internal alarms go off.

Willow was on the other side of the room having a conversation with a guy.

That was perfectly normal, though. In fact, it seemed like a rather good thing - Willow must've managed to overcome her inability to talk to boys. It shouldn't have made Harry uneasy.

But it did. It sent a chill down his spine.

Swallowing hard, Harry turned around and bit his lip. He really should just leave it alone. He wasn't even sure that the guy Willow was talking to was a vampire.

But . . . there was always that chance . . .

Harry glanced back over his shoulder.

_Oh hell . . ._

The guy was leading Willow out of the Bronze.

Leading her off for a romantic interlude?

Or drawing his victim into a secluded alley to kill?

Harry grimaced and jumped up to follow them, only to sit back down. Even if the guy _was_ a vampire, what could he do? Rush into the situation completely unprepared and try to stake it? He'd probably just end up getting bitten himself.

He glanced up at Buffy. She didn't look like she'd noticed Willow leaving.

"Come on, come on. Notice!! Look down! Look down!"

Letting out a frustrated breath, Harry stood up and ran in the direction of the stairs that lead to the upper part of the club. He climbed up them two by two.

"Summers!!" he shouted.

Buffy and the man she was talking to both turned around. "Er - yes?"

"Willow - she - did you see who she left with?"

". . . No . . ."

"Right now, she's outside in a dark, abandoned alley with a goddamned," Hesitating slightly, he glanced around and lowered his voice to a deadly hiss, "vampire!!"

Buffy's eyes widened. "What? How did you--"

"Stop asking questions and go and save her," he whispered as loud as he dared. "Go do some _slaying_!!"

Buffy and the man seemed too caught off guard by Harry's rant to do much more than stare at him dumbly. Harry gritted his teeth. He stomped up to her and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her down the stairs.

"Come on!!"

Buffy seemed to snap out of her fluster and pulled her wrist out of Harry's grasp.

They, accompanied by the man Buffy had been talking to, ran out the same door Willow and the man had used to leave.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone says anything, I _know_ that Harry is _way _too young to be in the Bronze with the high schoolers, but hey, I have to get him in the action somehow. If he didn't go to the Bronze, this would just be a story of how he sat in his and Angel's apartment all day and all night. 

So, hope you enjoy it. I also want to thank everyone who took time to review, as I thrive off of feedback!!

-Snarryvader81 (aka Anna)


	5. Welcome to the Hellmouth Part 2

"Uh - er - n- now that I've done this great service of telling you about this, I - I think I should be getting home--"

Buffy turned around quickly and grabbed Harry's arm. "No you don't."

Harry glanced from the cemetery to Buffy, his eyes huge and frightened. "I - I'm not going into a - a - whatever that is--"

"A mausoleum."

"Yeah. I'm not going into one of those when I know there's a bunch of really hungry vampires in there! Angel's gonna kill me as is for sneaking out--"

"We're wasting time. Come on!"

Harry gulped, but after glancing around and deciding he'd rather not be left outside, alone, in the dark, ran after Buffy.

The slayer in question sped through the door of the mausoleum.

"Well, this is nice. I- it's a little bare, but a dash of paint, a few throw pillows . . . call it home!!"

"Who the hell are you?" a blonde vampire spat.

"You mean there's actually someone in this town who doesn't know already? Whew, that's a relief, I'm telling you! Having a secret identity in this town is a job of work!!"

Harry grabbed onto Buffy's arm and whimpered. "Buffy - we can bail, now, can't we?"

"Okay, first of all, what's with the outfit? Live in the now, okay? You look like DeBarge!!"

The vampires started slowly walking towards them. Harry let go of Buffy's arm and moved to hide behind her. "S- shouldn't you be - be _s- slaying_ them?"

Buffy turned to the blonde vampire. "Now, we can do this the hard way, or . . . well, actually there's just the hard way."

"That's fine with me!" the blonde snapped.

Harry really wished Angel was here right about now. He bet that he'd _kill them_ instead of _talk to them_.

"Are you sure? Now, this is not gonna be pretty. We're talking violence, strong language, adult content . . ."

A vampire Harry hadn't noticed which was standing behind them roared. Harry screamed and flung himself off to the side.

Buffy pulled out a stake from her shirt, spun around, and neatly jammed the piece of wood into the vampire's chest. He fell back and turned to ashes.

Harry screamed again and pushed himself as far back into the wall he was up against as he could.

"She what happens when you roughhouse?"

"He was young and stupid!" the blonde spat.

"Harry, go!"

"Don't go far!!" the blonde shouted.

Harry found he couldn't go at all. Other then trembling uncontrollably, he seemed to be paralyzed with fear. Of course, you'd think that having grown up with a vampire, he wouldn't be _this_ afraid of them. But before this night, he'd only seen Angel's vamp face a few times. He'd never seen one staked and he'd never had vampires _wanting to eat him_.

"You know," Buffy began, still fighting the blonde, "I just wanted to start over. Be like everybody else. Have some friends, y'know, maybe a dog . . . But, _no_, you had to come here, you couldn't go suck on some other town."

"Who are you?"

"Don't you know?"

"B- Buffy - w- watch o- out!!!" Harry shouted. "B - behind you!"

A large, male vampire grabbed Buffy by the neck from behind.

"I don't care," he said before throwing her across the room.

Harry suddenly found himself pulled to his feet. "Come on!" Willow hissed. "We gotta get outta here!!"

Harry gulped and nodded. Willow grabbed Harry's hand and lead him from the mausoleum, followed by another boy. Harry hoped he was human.

Willow glanced over her shoulder. "Jesse!" She turned around and ran back to the other boy, who seemed to be injured. She grabbed onto him and started to help him walk.

"We'll get the police, it's just a few blocks up!"

Suddenly, a group of vampires emerged from the darkness to surround them.

Harry couldn't find his voice to scream.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I've gotten some reviews saying that Harry doesn't act like a normal eight year old. And I admit, he probably doesn't. I'm not around any young children, so I'm not really sure how they act (I'm thirteen and I can't seem to remember how I acted when I was eight). But, Harry isn't exactly a normal eight year old. He's a wizard and he grew up with a 250 year old vampire, for god's sake! I tried really hard to make him more childish in this chapter, though.

I really do appreciate your reviews, as feedback helps me to write better!

-Snarryvader81 (aka Anna)


	6. Preteen Teenage Rebellion

Where was accidental magic at a time like this?

In his eight years of life, Harry had been able to change his first grade teacher's hair blue, occasionally levitate a toy or two, and even break a window without touching it because he was angry.

But now, when a whole herd of hungry, blood sucking vampires were attacking him, Harry's magic was nowhere to be found.

"Cute little one," one of the vampires hissed at him. "And what's this?" She pricked his hand with one of her teeth. "A wizard?" She smiled evilly. "It has been a long time since I've fed from a wizard!"

Harry gulped and began struggling harder.

"No!" Willow screamed at a vampire who was trying to bite her. "Get off!"

"Hey!" a new voice shouted.

"Buffy!" Harry screeched. "Help me! _Please_!!"

Buffy, after kicking the vampire off of Willow, ran up behind the vampire attacking Harry and drove a stake through her heart. The vampire's face managed to take on a shocked expression before she turned to dust.

"Where's Jesse?" Buffy asked, her eyes scanning the surrounding area for more vampires.

"I don't know!" Willow replied. "They surrounded us!"

"That - that girl g- grabbed him and - and took off," Harry stuttered.

"Which way?" Buffy demanded.

"I don't know! I was a little busy, y'know, what with psycho vamp woman trying to _eat me_!!" Harry exhaled loudly and pressed part of his shirt over the small tooth-cut on his hand.

Buffy scanned the cemetery with her eyes again, whispering, "Jesse."

* * *

"Where were you?"

Harry froze, his hand on the doorknob of his room. "Out."

"Out," Angel repeated. "Yes, I could tell you were out without even asking you, as you weren't in your room. It's one thirty in the morning, and you smell like blood and vampire dust."

"I - I went to that - that er - club - what's it called? The Bronze? Yeah, the Bronze."

"So you went to the Bronze and some vampires just happened to spontaneously combust on the dance floor?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No," Angel deadpanned.

"Well - then I won't say yes. Uh - well, you see - um, this girl - this girl named Willow - erm - left the Bronze with this guy - and that was actually a good thing because she normally can't talk to guys without stuttering her head off - but I thought that there was something weird about the guy - so Buffy Summers - you know, the Powers That Be's newest Slayer - was there talking with some old guy - I think he might be one of those watcher people - and I told her about Willow and so she ran after them and I kind of - uh - followed her and we ended up in this uh - what did she call it? A mausoleum? Yeah, yeah, a mausoleum. And I didn't want to go in there with her, y'see but I didn't want to stay out in the dark by myself, either, because that's a surefire way to end up vampire food in this town so I went into the big, scary vampire-slash-dead-people-filled mausoleum and she slayed some vampires - but she talked to them for _way_ too long - all the while I was thinking that you wouldn't _talk _to them, you'd _kill_ them because you're a much better fighter--"

Angel held up his hand. Harry stopped his babbling and inhaled a large breath - he'd said all of that without breathing once.

"So - let me get this straight," Angel began. "You, in some strange pre-teenage teen rebellion, snuck out of the apartment after dark - when we're living in a town where going out after dark usually equals some form of death - to go to a club for the _high schoolers_ which, by the way, is probably infested with vampires. Once you arrive there, you reveal that you know that Buffy Summers is the Slayer by telling her to go kill a vampire who was trying to feed off a girl named 'Willow'. Am I right so far?"

Harry nodded shakily.

"How did you get cut?"

"A - a vampire thought that a wizard would make a great snack," Harry said quietly.

"You mean you got close enough to vampires for one to actually bite you? Do you have _any idea whatsoever_ how close you came to getting killed? Or you might've been turned! Do you _want_ to go around with no soul? No heartbeat?"

"No."

"Do you want to kill and maim without remorse?"

"No!"

"Do you have a death wish, then? Do you want to be killed by a demon? Do you want to be used as a human sacrifice?"

"No!!"

"If you continue to go out at night, something like that _will_ happen to you! You might be a wizard, Harry, and maybe when you've been trained you could defend yourself better, but until then, you can't rely on your magic to protect you! You are _not_ a Slayer, Harry! You don't have enhanced strength! You'd be an easy kill!"

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Harry muttered.

Angel looked taken aback for several seconds before the expression on his face turned hard. "Go to your room."

"But--"

"Go to your room now! You're grounded!"

"What?"

"Grounded! Two weeks. You go to school and you come home and go to your room. No going out _at all_."

"Fine!" Harry walked through the threshold into his room and was about to slam the door shut, but he couldn't resist a parting comment. "At least I managed to _not_ get bitten the first time I came across a souless vampire. Unlike you, Angelus."

He slammed the door shut loudly.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I have finally gotten this chapter done!! Angel turned out all pissed-off parent and Harry acted like an ungrateful brat towards the end. Oh, well.

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!

-Snarryvader81


	7. Out The Window

"I don't suppose you've got a key on you?" Buffy asked, staring at the chain which blocked the entryway to a tunnel leading out of the mausoleum which had been the center location of the fight the night before.

"They really don't like me dropping in," Angel replied, glancing around the mausoleum.

Buffy spun around to face him. "Why not?"

"They really don't like me."

"How could that possibly be?" Buffy asked, feigning disbelief.

"I knew you'd figure out this entryway sooner or later. Actually, I thought it was gonna be a _little_ sooner."

"Sorry you had to wait." She exhaled. "Okay. Look, if you're gonna be popping up with this Cryptic Wise Man act on a regular basis, can you at least tell me your name?"

"Angel."

"Angel. It's a pretty name." She hesitated. Harry Potter's panicked words from the night before came back to her mind.

_'Angel's gonna kill me as is for sneaking out--'_

"It's familiar, too. That kid - Harry Potter - mentioned something about someone named Angel."

"Yes - Harry. He's my - uh - ward, I guess you would call it."

"You let him go to bars on a regular basis?"

"He snuck out. Seems to think he's invincible. I've grounded him. Do you make a habit of letting eight year olds accompany you when you slay vampires?"

"No," Buffy replied, defensive. "I didn't _make_ him come with me. He decided to tag along."

"If he shows up again - don't let him get involved."

"I thought you said you grounded him?" Buffy said, turning around to face the tunnel entrance.

"I did - Don't . . . go down there," said Angel.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Deal with my going."

"You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk. Tonight is the Harvest. Unless you can prevent it, the Master walks."

"If this Harvest thing is such a suckfest, why don't _you_ stop it?"

"'Cause I'm afraid."

After staring at him for a few moments, she spun around and kicked the doors to the tunnel entrance open.

"They'll be expecting you."

"I've got a friend down there. Or at least a potential friend. Do you know what it's like to have a friend?"

Angel paused. "Well - Harry is something like a friend."

"And if he was down there, wouldn't you do this for him?"

"If the ungrateful brat doesn't _stay inside at night_ I'm sure we'll eventually find out."

Buffy crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Yes," he finally said, "I'd do the same for Harry. When you hit the tunnels, head east towards the school. That's where you're likely to find them."

"You gonna wish me luck?"

Silence.

Buffy sighed in annoyance and headed down the tunnels.

Once her footsteps faded, Angel whispered, "Good luck."

* * *

Harry looked out the window in disgust. He'd been grounded only for a day and he felt like he was about to keel over from boredom. What made it even worse was that he could practically see the Bronze from his window. It wasn't that he found going there all that fun, but at least he was doing something other than _sitting aimlessly! _It wasn't like there was anything else he could do in this stupid town!

School had been boring as usual, and there had been an incredible amount of homework (most of it was math – he _hated_ math. It was impossible to do). He'd finally finished it about two hours ago and had resorted to looking out his window for entertainment.

Sighing, Harry rested his chin on the windowsill and slid his fingers under the piece of metal attached to the glass, pushing up.

To his surprise, the window opened.

After debating with himself for several minutes, Harry jumped up and inched his room's door open slightly, glancing around the apartment.

"Angel?" he whispered. "Angel? You home?"

There was no response.

Silently cheering, he pulled on a blue jean jacket and made his way over to the window. With a grunt of effort, he managed to pull the window completely open in one motion.

After looking around one more time, almost as if to make sure Angel wasn't hiding in the shadows, just waiting to jump out and ground him for even longer, he carefully climbed out the window and closed it.

He glanced up at the setting sun once before he took off, hoping he could make it to the Bronze before it set.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, this chapter is _finally_ done! It's way too short and doesn't have any action in it, I know, but the next chapter will have to do with the Harvest!

My laptop broke, but I managed to get it working long enough to email this to myself on another computer. Ugh - I hate my laptop.

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can!

-snarryvader81 (aka Anna)


	8. The Wisdom of Listening to Your Elders

The Bronze was as loud and noisy as it had been the previous time Harry had visited. Music boomed from speakers while teenagers moved on the dance floor. Other people wandered around the club, some carrying drinks and others just talking with their friends.

Harry had searched in vain for Willow, but she was nowhere to be found. So he resigned himself to just observing the other people. He briefly played a game with himself – 'How Many Vampires Can I Spot?' - but quickly realized that it was impossible to actually distinguish blood-suckers from normal people when they were all crowded together.

Rapidly getting bored out of his mind, Harry had just decided to go home and pray that Angel wasn't there when a commotion at the door attracted his attention.

The doorman – whom Harry had narrowly avoided coming in, since he didn't exactly have a piece of identification on him – stumbled through the door, followed by several vampires, all of whom were wearing their game faces. One of them shut the door and moved in front of it to stand guard.

Harry closed his eyes. _Oh crap . . ._

One of the vampires made his way to the upper level, while another one found the main power switch and quickly shut it off, leaving them in darkness. The occupants of the Bronze all started to complain, obviously wondering what was happening, and an air of panic began to grow in the room.

A vampire whom Harry recognized from his little adventure in the mausoleum the other night swiftly got up on the stage located in the front of the Bronze.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "There is no cause for alarm." He paused. "Actually, there is cause for alarm. It just won't do any good!"

The vampires face suddenly became visible in the meager light still remaining in the room. The teenagers screamed as the vampire laughed.

"I thought there wasn't any band tonight?" Harry heard a brunette girl ask. He glanced in her direction, only to see her gasp in fright as a boy standing next to her revealed his vamp face.

Harry fruitlessly glanced around for any place to hide. He should've listened to Angel . . .

"This is a glorious night!" proclaimed the vampire on the stage. "It is also the last any of you shall ever see. Bring me the first."

Another vampire grabbed the doorman and pulled him up onto the stage. The man, however, didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation.

"What do you guys want, man, huh? You want money? Man, what's wrong with your faces?!"

The vampire grabbed the doorman by the throat and wrapped his other arm around the man's head.

"Watch me, people!" cried the vampire. "Fear is like an elixir. It's almost like blood."

Harry looked away and wrung his hands nervously at the sound of fangs sliding through flesh.

The doorman screamed for a time until the sound gradually died away. His body hit the ground with a dull thump.

"Next!" shouted the vampire.

_He really should've listened to Angel . . ._

* * *

Angel ducked into his apartment building, torn between going to the Bronze to help Buffy or staying with Harry. He really was feeling a bit bad about grounding him. He hadn't really known it was so dangerous to go out, and Angel had never specifically _told_ him he couldn't.

But it was a dangerous night and he wanted to stay with Harry and make sure he was safe.

He shut the door loudly behind him, locking it. "Harry! I'm home! Is your homework done?"

Silence.

"Harry!" called Angel, walking over to the small kitchen and opening the refrigerator. He pulled out a carton of pig's blood. "Are you hungry? We can get a pizza!"

Still more silence.

"Harry," said Angel, exasperated. "Will you at least talk to me?" Taking the lid off of his pig's blood, he strode over to Harry's door and pulled it open.

"Harry--"

Angel stopped abruptly, the pig's blood falling from his hand.

The window was jarred.

Horrified, Angel turned around and sped out of the apartment, praying to any deity that would hear him that Harry wasn't at the bronze.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yay! My writer's block has finally gone away!

Thanks for all the nice reviews!

-snarryvader81 (aka Anna)


	9. The Xena Phobic Wizard

Harry watched in a mix of disgust and fascination as the vampire on the stage fed from a girl. He'd never actually seen Angel take blood from anything alive, as what he drank was always in a bag or a plastic container. Despite growing up around it, Harry had always been instinctively repulsed by the consumption of blood. He wasn't sure why, but it just seemed like an unnatural thing to do. Maybe he had some type of inborn taboo against consuming something that had once given life to a human, he didn't know.

Though, now that he actually took the time to think about it, drinking blood from a container was a lot less gross than taking it from an actual human.

The vampire on the stage unceremoniously dropped the girl's body, and it hit the stage with a sickening thump.

"Give me more!" he hissed, his yellow eyes glinting in sadistic glee.

Vampire minions moved through the crowd, following his orders. One grabbed a teenage boy and forcibly pulled him to the stage, shoving him into his comrade's arms.

Harry winced as the vampire's fangs pierced the boy's jugular, all the while his thoughts were wildly racing. Why were the vampires doing this? From all he knew of them, they were more the 'stalker' type, not prone to large displays like this. They usually hunted on their own, too, not in groups. So _what_ was going on?

"My, my, my," hissed a vampire as he stepped out from the shadows. "Now isn't this interesting?"

Harry gulped and took a step back, only to collide with another vampire standing behind him.

"You're not normal," said the second vampire, sniffing along his neck and making him shudder.

"Oh, no," said Harry, laughing nervously. "I'm just as normal as can be, you know? Plain, old normal. Normal name, too!"

The vampire in front of him leaned in, sniffing his hair.

"What is with you guys and the sniffing?" demanded Harry, all the while attempting to wiggle out of the other vampire's grasp.

"Hmm . . . pretty little virgin boy, and so, so much fear . . ."

"Eh, yeah, I'm pathetic that way, but really, I'm grounded, so I should get—"

Slowly, a smile came over the vampire's distorted face. "Can it be?" He extended his tongue, licking up and down Harry's face.

"God," moaned Harry. "Vampire spit, ew . . ."

"A wizard!" declared the vampire, amazed. "And here I thought they didn't leave their stupid little xenophobic world!"

"That's right!" said Harry wildly. "I'm xeno- xena-phobic! I hate her! I absolutely despise that princess bitch! So, that can't make my blood very nice—"

"How rare!" said the vampire behind him. "How . . . unique!"

"How fitting!" finished the other vampire. "How absolutely fitting a sacrifice for the Master's rise!"

"Rise?" spluttered Harry as the vampires each grabbed one of his arms and began to drag him to the stage. "Something's _rising_?" he demanded. There was no answer, and Harry moaned pathetically. "Oh, this is _not_ good!"

* * *

Angel ran wildly through the night in the direction of the Bronze, his thoughts clouded with panic. Deep down, he knew he should at least attempt to formulate a plan, but he found he couldn't focus. All he could hope for was that the Slayer was at least aware of what the Harvest was, and that she had figured out that it would be happening at the Bronze. Her Watcher seemed competent enough to realize it, though Angel didn't know whether or not Buffy would listen to him. She seemed to still be in denial about her Sacred Duty.

Angel dashed around a corner, coming to the edge of a small park. He was endlessly relieved to realize that he could distantly see the Bronze's entrance. Maybe he would get there in time , before Harry was killed or - or turned . . .

Angel didn't think he could stand to see him turned.

With a new determination, he took off across the park in a straight line, jumping over any obstacles that got in his way. He was _so close_—

"Hey there."

Angel collided with a cold, hard body with such force that he ungainly stumbled backwards. Blinking, he narrowed his eyes, realizing his gaze was level with a very muscular chest. He slowly tilted his head upwards, only to be met with the game face of a very, very tall vampire.

"Lemme guess," he began, his sarcasm masking his fear for his ward. "You were jock in highschool?"

A blond girl stepped out of the shadows, smirking. "Such fire. I like it. Maybe I should turn him."

Angel smiled, vamping out and drawing a stake. "You're too late by about two hundred and fifty years, though it's a nice sentiment. And, since you can't even successfully identify another vampire, you must be fledglings." His voice turned mocking. "Maybe you should run home to mommy?"

The big jock growled deep in his throat and charged, followed shortly by the female.

Angel grimaced and began to fight, silently praying to a God he didn't believe in that Harry would survive the night.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The writer's block has broken! It's gone, it's gone[Does Little Dance I've been watching Angel The Series lately, so it got me writing! I like this story, even though I think the earlier chapters were . . . awkward. But I like it anyway.

Thanks for all your great reviews!

Anna


	10. Madrid, 1843, I Caught You Sleeping

Harry had had many days that could be considered _bad_ during his life. There was that day he could only remember in his dreams, of which he could recall nothing but green light and screams. There was the first time he'd gotten a detention (because Billy who sat in front of him in homeroom had showed their math teacher a book he'd been carrying on witchcraft) and the time that that Miranda girl had given him a big red valentine in front of their entire class, who promptly burst into laughter. There was even the day the Whistler (who sounded like a comic book villain, in Harry's opinion) showed up on what poorly passed for their doorstep, ripping them away from their lives in New York to go help a little blond cheerleader with delusions of grandeur.

But this day, right now, was possibly the worst one he had ever had.

First he was grounded, then he had to do endless amounts of homework while locked in his stuffy room. He was hungry, too, but then again, so were the vampires, and that was what was really making the day one big bonanza of awful.

The two demons at his sides dragged him up to the stage effortlessly, as if they were moving something like a pillow, not a struggling boy. Unceremoniously, they threw him down before the vampire on the stage, who, Harry noticed, was much bigger than he'd previously looked.

"You bring me a child?" he hissed, his voice lisped because of the fangs. "The Master--"

"The Master will want him," said one of the vampires who had grabbed him, a blond with a generic leather jacket. "_Feel him_, Luke."

Harry shook his head frantically as the vampire--Luke--approached. "Ah, no, I really don't like to be … _felt_. It's kind of a personal thing--"

Luke leaned down and grabbed him by his shirt collar. As he rose back up, Harry nervously looked down at his feet, which were slowly rising off of the floor.

Once he was suspended in midair, Luke slowly sniffed the side of his neck, then licked across his cheek.

Harry groaned, pushing in futile against the (un)man's shoulders. "God, what's with all the _licking_? This is going to give me a complex!"

"A wizard!" declared Luke jovially. "A wizard child, here in Sunnydale. What an _amazing_ find." He nodded approvingly. "The Master _shall_ be pleased. Magical blood is that much stronger, even that of a muggle witch … but a true wizard …"

He abruptly let go of Harry, sending him falling to the ground. The boy barely managed to land on his feet, and stumbled backwards, but Luke pulled him them together.

Harry laughed nervously. "You know, there's really no need--"

"With one, final sacrifice," declared Luke, "the Master shall BE FREE!!"

"Hey, you know, you really don't have to kill me, I can, uh, I can lead you to the Slayer, or--or, a vampire with a soul! Bet that's rare, eh? Uh--um--"

The vampire's fangs were drawing dangerously close to his neck.

"You know, in jail, the child murderers always get beat up first …" He was babbling nonsense now, but he couldn't stop himself.

"And--and Angel--_Angelus_ is gonna stake you--!"

Luke's fangs slid into his jugular, and he finally stopped talking.

* * *

Buffy Summers growled deep in her throat at the door's refusal to open. Behind it, she could hear music pounding and the muffled sounds of screams. The Harvest had already begun, people were being killed, and she couldn't save them because of a _door_.

"It's locked!" she declared needlessly, more to herself than to anyone else.

"We're too late," said Giles, who was practically thrumming with nerves. She could see him resist the urge to clean his glasses. Xander and Willow looked equally as anxious, each shifting from foot to foot.

"I didn't know I was going to get grounded," she said angrily.

"Can you break it down?" asked Xander hopefully, eyeing the door.

Buffy glanced at it. It was tall and metal, and securely locked. She was strong, but … "No, not that thing, I don't think. Uh … why don't you guys … try the back entrance? I'll find my own way."

"Right," breathed Giles. He touched lightly Willow on the arm and turned around. "Come on."

Buffy glanced down at what she was holding. "Uh, wait, guys! Here--" She handed Willow her bag. "Just--get the exit cleared, and get as many people out as you can. That's _all_. Do _not_ go Wild Bunch on me, got it?"

Giles blinked. "Uh, of course. See you inside then …"

The three took off around the back, and Buffy sighed into the darkness.

How she missed cheerleading …

* * *

"Oh, joy!" said Willow lamely as she rattled the doorknob. It would only twist slightly to each side, which obviously meant that it, too, was locked.

Xander fidgeted, glancing over his shoulder down the alley. "We've gotta get in there before Jesse does something stupider than usual."

Giles's eyes flashed, and he grabbed Xander by the shoulders. "Now, you listen to me!" he shouted, shaking him slightly. "Jesse is dead! You have to remember that when you see him, you're not looking at your friend. You're looking at the thing that killed him!"

Xander frowned, and shook his head in denial. "But--but Jesse--"

"Is dead, Xander," he said, more gently. "I know it's hard to accept. But he was dead the moment his soul left his body. The--the _thing_ in there … it has his face, it has his memories … but is not him. It's a demon, with no purpose other than to kill and cause pain. Jesse wouldn't have wanted his body used for that, would he?"

Xander stared at him, but after a moment of silence, Willow answered.

"No, no he wouldn't have." Her face was grave, and she looked about ready to burst into tears. "He should rest in peace. And--and we have to do what's right."

* * *

Angel took an unneeded breath and pocketed his stake. The grass was now covered in a fine layer of vampire dust, which was quickly being blown away in the wind.

"You know, I remember a time when vampires had class. Sires used to be picky about who they turned."

Turning on his heels, he sped off in the direction of Bronze, hoping against hope that his being delayed hadn't equaled Harry's death.

* * *

The Master's eyes snapped open, and he frowned.

The ceremony was going well, and he was almost free, but there was something odd about Luke's current offering. There seemed to be power with it, like an unusual concentration of magic.

A wizard, then. Those were rare.

His frown deepened. Magical blood would free him twice as quickly, but he didn't need a pack of angry wizards showing up to stake him. As group, they were all very talented vampire hunters. Instant fire and wooden wands, how pleasant.

Still, the power flowing through his veins was invigorating, unlike anything he'd felt for hundreds upon hundreds of years.

Slowly, he smiled. Let the wizards come, if they dared.

He would deal with them.

* * *

Buffy agilely slid though the window and onto the second floor balcony, being careful to stick to the shadows. She didn't see any vampires on this level, but she didn't want to be seen too early by some minion. Timing was key, and surprise could undoubtedly be used to her advantage.

Finally sure that the balcony was clear, she quietly got down onto her stomach and crawled army style to the edge. Her eyes roamed over the crowd, taking count of how many vamps she could see.

There were _a lot_ of them.

Her luck was sucky.

She next glanced at the stage, where the vampire she assumed to be "The Vessel" was drinking yet another sacrifice dry. The person didn't look like anyone from the high school--

She paused and did a double take. Her eyes widened.

Was that … Harry? Angel's Harry?

* * *

"This one's mine!"

Darla growled, grabbing Cordelia's arm and pulling her roughly away from Jesse.

"There all for the Master," she spat. Cordelia whimpered. Were they gang members? On drugs? She thought Sunnydale didn't _have_ a high crime rate! Were they a motorcycle gang?

"Don't I get one?" Jesse demanded.

"No, fool!" she shrieked. "This is _The Master's_ night! _Go kill a whore in the street if you want one so bad_!"

Indignant, Jesse formed a reply, but was interrupted when the club's door flew open, the locks having broken clean off. All the vampires, even Luke, paused and looked up.

A tall figure in black entered, slowly surveyed the situation, and stepped into the light.

"Angelus?" Darla gasped.

The man smirked, carefully eyeing Luke. He headed toward Darla, even as her expression began to change to one of hate.

"Angelus!" declared Luke, holding Harry slightly away from him. The boy was conscious, but barely. "It's been a lifetime. Madrid, 1843."

"I caught you sleeping," he said, smiling toothily. "Yes, I remember."

"No, you're not," Darla continued, eyeing him warily. "You haven't changed. You still have that filthy--"

The stake was in her heart before anyone could react. She barely had time to look shocked before her body dissolved into ash.

The room was silent for a moment, stunned.

Angel smiled widely, though there was an unmistakable undertone of malice to it. "Fuck, I've always hated that bitch." He sauntered through the crowd and up onto the stage.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Luke. "You've been off the map for a hundred years. We thought you were dead."

Angel shrugged. "I heard the Master was having a little party. Thought I'd join in. Haven't had a nice bloodbath in a few decades."

"Everyday for you is a bloodbath, Angelus."

Angel nodded begrudgingly. "Yes, yes, but the old torture-maim-kill gets _redundant_ after so many years of it. I decided that I should join my brethren on the Hellmouth, and become part of something great … part of something I always should've been … The Order of Aurelius."

Luke smiled slowly.

* * *

Buffy stared down at the stage in disbelief. Angel … was a vampire? Angel? That was the only thing that could explain it, though, no matter how hard it was to take in. The other vampires had recognized him, he apparently knew them, he was in Madrid a hundred and fifty years ago … But he just hadn't seemed like a vampire!

So, sure, she'd only talked to him once or twice, but he'd helped her, he'd been … friendly. Vampires weren't, though … he certainly wasn't anymore, from what she could see.

But, he'd told her about the Harvest. Why would he do that if he was aligned with The Master? Was it some elaborate trap?

She glanced at Harry, who was staring at Angel--Angelus--with glazy eyes.

And where, she thought abruptly, did he factor into this?

* * *

Harry felt like he was weightless. His legs and arms no longer seemed connected to his body, but he could feel what blood he had left thudding sluggishly through his veins.

He vaguely noticed that Angel was there, that he could hear his voice, but then again it might've been his imagination. He might've been dead, laying limply on the floor of the Bronze, or still being held in the vampire's arms while he drained him dry.

He wasn't sure he cared to know.

* * *

"That is, of course, if The Master would accept me," continued Angel, edging closer to Luke.

Harry's eyes were open, and he could hear his heartbeat, but it dangerously slow.

He made a show of glancing at the boy, then back at Luke. "And who's your friend, eh?" He stalked around Luke's back and leant over his shoulder, sniffing at Harry's hair A mixture of natural human scent and soap hit his senses, as well as the tangy odor of blood. The magic in the blood sent his senses crackling like a shockwave might, and he had to resist the urge to lick some of it off of the boy's neck.

Reminding himself firmly that he had a job to do, he leaned back slightly, smiling like a wolf.

"A wizard? Bravo, Luke. I'm sure the Master will be … pleased!"

As it had been with Darla, the stake punctured Luke's heart before he even knew Angel had it in his hand.

Angel pulled it out of the other vampire's back only a split second before he dissolved into dust.

Harry fell to the floor, smiling slightly.

"Told you he'd stake you," he muttered before slipping into the welcoming darkness, ignorant to the sudden chaos in the Bronze.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The writing bug hit! Finally! It's been like, what, a year? I feel guilty. :( But, anyway, I tried to make thsi chapter longer! I really did!

Anna


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